From Wildcat to Alleycat: A Tomo Takino Story
by LegendaryFro
Summary: Quite possibly OOC. Rated M for language, violence and some hints at sexual stuff. Look, and Update! Chapter 5 up! ::Six years have passed since Tomo graduated from High School, and her life has taken a turn for the worst::
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Azumanga Daioh or Tokyo, or the song that I was inspired by. I'm simply borrowing them without permission, which isn't stealing somehow. P.S. While I –should- look this up, I'm lazy, so all of the above go to their rightful owners.

Background about this story's creation: It's quite simple, really. After watching all but the last episode of Azumanga Daioh and reading countless fics on the topic, then listening to "It's Been a While" during a long car-ride home where the only thing to do was day-dream, I day-dreamed up this story. I was going to make it a song-fic, but then I remembered that Song-fics piss me off for some reason, and thus I wouldn't be good at writing one.

One last note: I will not claim to know the what the situation with homeless people is in Tokyo, nor will I be able to tell you how common out-door fires are, or how easy it is to cauterize a wound. In short, artistic liberties are awesome.

_And as a final note, italics are Tomo's thoughts, and dotted lines mark the beginning and end of a flashback._

Yay! It's ready!

From Wildcat to Alleycat

A Tale of Tomo Takino

It was a frigid night in Tokyo, with strong gusts depositing layer upon layer of snow on every surface imaginable. The kind of night where even expensive reservations set months in advance would be blown off just to avoid the hassle of going outside. Of course, staying inside is not an option either when you lack a place to live, so Takino Tomo would have to make due with her layers of shabby, discarded clothing and a makeshift tent made of a discarded tarp and some conveniently shaped and sized branches. Tomo was a young girl, no older than twenty-three, but her homeless state, coupled with a more recent alcohol addiction, had definitely taken their toll on her. She was about 5' 3", not too short, but not too tall, either. Her hair, when not coated in mud and dirt, was a dark brown, and reached about down to the curve of her bottom. It was messy and tangled, as though it hadn't been washed or combed thoroughly in quite a while, since washing and combing her hair was usually the last thing on the girl's mind.

Her face was the cleanest part of her, skin tone usually a mildly tanned peach color, though the cold weather had changed it to a nearly cadaverous pale white. Her heavy, tan wool jacket, black sweatshirt, and thick, red wool gloves were all battered and worn, large tears and rips in them from catching on fences, as well as fights with dogs and other homeless people for food. She had lost her right ring finger to one such fight the previous winter, but was lucky enough to have found a fire and a piece of metal to heat and cauterize the wound, although she was completely smashed at the time and managed to give herself permanent burn wounds on the rest of her right hand and even one up near her left eye before she finally got it. Her pants were, in comparison to the rest of her clothes, new looking, still un-ripped, un-faded (tan like her jacket), and a bit too small for her, as were her shoes. They were black sneakers, now caked with mud and other, far less pleasant things, and had been her only pair of shoes for the two years since she became homeless.

Tomo sat quietly under her tent, her back to a brick wall; legs curled up against her chest and held there by her arms, her face pressed to her knees, shuddering from the freezing winds and gathering snow blowing in through the entrance to her "home". Her dinner, a half-eaten turkey sandwich, sat to her left, becoming steadily less visible under the gathering snow, and clutched in her left hand was a bottle of her favorite toxin, now almost empty. Her eyes were shut tight, rapidly chilling tears stinging her face as she reminisced about her childhood and her childhood friend in particular. She remembered when they had first met, long ago in elementary school.

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A small, slightly chubby girl with glasses and long, light brown hair was kneeling on the playground, sobbing loudly as three boys crowded around her, pointing and laughing as they yelled things about her weight and bespectacled state. A nine year old Tomo heard the comments and the sobbing as she ran by the crowd, chasing a stray ball. She stopped dead in her tracks as she absorbed the nearby sounds, turning and shuffling towards the source, her hands balled into fists. She smacked the boy closest to her in the cheek hard, sending him sprawling to the ground, a bit too shocked to cry immediately. The other two boys immediately took off running, shouting pleas for mercy. As soon as they were out of sight, Tomo sat next to the girl and nudged her.

"Hey! You can stop cryin' now, I scared 'em off! They won't bother ya anymore, not while I'm with ya" Tomo announced, grinning with self-satisfaction.

"Y… you scared them off? F… for me?" the girl replied as she turned her head to look at her savior, her voiced still choked with her un-used sobs.

"Yeah, of course! And from now on, you have me as your dedicated body guard, uhm… ehm… what's your name…?" Tomo could feel herself blushing softly, embarrassed. The bespectacled girl simply giggled softly, following it up with a smile.

"I'm Koyomi Mizuhara! And your name is…?" she asked, as she stood up, reaching her hand out for her new friend, who either didn't notice or didn't care.

"I'm Tomo! Pleased to meet…" she was cut off by a teacher dragging her away, the boy she had smacked following close behind.

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Takino chuckled to herself, her eyes opening just a bit as she murmured.

"Got suspended for three days cause of that, Yomi, so I sure hope you appreciated it…"

She sighed after and began to stand, her legs wobbling under her, her right hand moving to the wall to support her. Fresh tears began to sting her face as she stumbled out of her tent, and she began to whisper.

"Ahhh, Yomi… I'm so glad you're not here to see me like this. You're bodyguard's a bum now, eh? Wildcat Tomo's been de-clawed…" she sighed again and shoved her hand into her pocket as she walked, fishing out her long dead cell phone.

"Still, it'd be nice to hear your voice again, if only for a few moments… buuut what's done is done, can't go crawlin' back to ya now, not after so long, specially not after what I did…" she stopped to lean against to wall of her favorite, or at least her closest, liquor store, rummaging through her pockets for cash, which she was unsurprisingly lacking.

"Dammit, how could I run out now? Right when I need it most, it just slips away from me. Well, I suppose I'll have to find some quick cash…" she trailed off as her gaze wandered, finally landing on a woman about her own age heading towards her, though on the opposite side of the street.

"Well, I suppose nows as good a time as ever to try purse snatchin'…" she mumbled as she crossed the street, tailing her target from a few feet away. She laughed very quietly to herself as she got ready to spring, remembering her old dreams of working with Interpol.

_And to think you wanted to be a cop. You certainly fucked that up, didn'tcha? Just like you fucked up college, and your friendships, and your first love. You're shit, Takino, and you need to make everyone around you feel like shit too._

As quick as it had started, it was over. The woman was on her ass in the snow, and Tomo was running at top speed from the scene, the purse flailing wildly behind her, tears streaming down her face again.

_And what, now you're gonna go and do some dumb shit and dig yourself deeper into your little hell-hole. Just gonna run off with that woman's money and any other valuables she had in there, for what? A nice bottle of liver disease, yeah? Well, maybe that's not such a bad thing. The faster you die, the sooner everyone else around you'll stop suffering. I hope you rot, Takino, you worthless bitch._

She stopped. Her legs began to tremble underneath her, her arm wiping furiously at her eyes. She turned and began to run back, hoping the woman she'd robbed hadn't run too far away, which she hadn't. In fact, she'd stayed in the same spot, though she was standing now, explaining to a male police officer what had happened. Tomo called to the two as she approached and tossed the purse at the woman's feet. Moments later, Tomo was slammed face first into the snow as the officer cuffed her, and she put up no resistance as she was led into the back seat of a police car. The officer yelled some things at her, but she was too lost in her own thoughts to hear him. She relaxed as best she could and closed her eyes…

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The sun shone through her curtains as she woke up, though her body was that of a high-school girl now. She took in a deep breath and let it out in a happy sigh, a familiar feeling upon her. Her lover was still fast asleep, as her arm were still wrapped tight around Tomo's waist, so much wriggling was required to turn herself. She finally accomplished her mission, though, and planted a gentle kiss on the lips of her sleeping maiden.

"Yomi, you have no clue how cute you look when you sleep, do you?" she whispered, a warm, loving smile spreading across her face. Her lover stirred a bit and let out a soft "mrr", squeezing her captive gently, then yawning and opening one eye sleepily.

"Well, I have some idea, since you're constantly reminding me…" Yomi cuddled up closer to her love and smiled before yawning again. "But it's always nice to hear".

A few minutes passed both girls admiring each other, silent but blissful. Finally, Tomo broke the silence, first with another kiss, then with a simple statement.

"Y'know, Yomi… I dunno where I'd be without you…"

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Those words echoed through her mind, growing steadily fainter, until her older, much more cynical voice replaced it.

_Yeah, just look where you are. A police station, and not as an officer, either. You called yourself a wildcat? You're just a pussy without Yomi, huh? Just a stray cat that's gulpin down anti-freeze. But hey, why listen to your best friend, huh? Go get a job, maybe? Help pay for yourself while you live with her, try to get back into college? But no, no, it's a much better idea to break a bottle over her head and yell at her about some shit you know isn't true, but you'll just go ahead and say it anyway cause you know it'll fuck up her night. That's a much better idea, yeah? Then you can go stormin' outta the house and never speak to her again. That's just as good, yeah? But hey, I should shut up now. This officer would probably appreciate it if you actually answered his questions._

"Hey, are you even listening to me!? What in the hell? Did you, or did you not steal that purse?"

"I… I did…" Tomo managed to sputter out, tears welling up in her eyes once more, her breath choking up with soft sobs. "I… I'm s… sorry, I didn't… I wasn't thinkin' straight or something I just…" she trailed off into louder sobs, burying her face in her arms.

"H… hey now, stop that. Stop crying, come on. Listen, hey, you gave it back, right? Well, this'll have to go on your record, but you'll probably only get community service, since you turned yourself in. In the meantime, you got someone you can call to come pick you up?"

Tomo shook her head, almost yelling at the man "Do I look like I have anyone?! Are you fucking blind or somethin'?!"

_Oh, real bright idea there, Takino. Two birds with one stone, you can get the officer mad at you –and- ruin a good chance at makin' up with Yomi. I'm surprised you ended up like this with that brain in your head. Fuck, even Chiyo would be jealous._

She nodded a little, seeming to become far calmer, which confused the officer since she had just been almost raging, then asked him in her softest voice;

"A… actually, could I call Koyomi Mizuhara…?"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

Catnap

Tomo sat quietly in the waiting room at the police station, slumped forward in her seat so that her hair hung down in front of her face, acting as a curtain between her and the world. Her eyes were closed, her breath soft and slow as she slept, her life, or as much as she could remember, playing in fast motion as she dreamt. Every waking moment of her life, and even some of her dreams, rushed through her mind at top speed, until one night…

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"Hey, Yomi! Kags and I are goin out drinkin' tonight! You wanna come?" Tomo shouted from the front door to her girlfriend, who was back in their bedroom, diligently at work. She heard her lover stand up as she replied.

"Jeez, Tomo, I'm really not that far away, you don't have to shout, y'know…" Tomo simply gave her a silly grin, causing the bespectacled girl to shake her head in slight annoyance.

"Well, even if you had told me about it sooner than five minutes before you were heading out…" she paused for a moment to glare at Tomo, "I'd still have to say no. Unlike you, I have a lot of work to do tonight".

Tomo sighed and waved the comment away dismissively, though her voice sounded slightly hurt. "Hey, hey, that's low. I have an interview on Thursday, y'know? I'm not that pathetic…" Yomi closed the remaining space between herself and the shorter girl, pulling her into a gentle embrace and murmuring comfortingly. "I know, I know, I'm sorry…" she backed off slightly and smiled at her lover. "Go, have fun. Just try not to get _too_ drunk. The last thing I want is to wake up next to a hung over, grumpy Tomo". She chuckled softly, as did Tomo, who at the same time gave her lover a gentle squeeze.

"Well, if I do get wasted, I'll just remember to sleep on the couch, eh?" Tomo added sarcastically. Yomi gave her another annoyed look, sighing softly. "Aw, come on now, if ya keep up like that, you'll be all wrinkly and old by the time you're thirty. Stop getting so serious about everything!" Before she could continue her rant any longer, Tomo heard a horn honk outside, and pressed her lips to Yomi's for a split second before charging out the door, shouting back "I'll see ya tomorrow or somethin'! Love ya!"

Tomo bolted down the stairs at top speed, nearly knocking a few of her neighbors onto the ground as she darted past them. She slammed into the entrance hall doors with all of her might, nearly knocking them off their hinges as they slammed open, leaving only a small patch of open area between Tomo and her waiting friend. Unfortunately, this patch of ground was covered in ice and snow, and although Tomo neared the vehicle, her pace did not slow. She slammed into the side of the car, her face pressed against the glass of the window, twisted into a look of discomfort, her body already aching from the impact. Kagura nearly jumped out of her skin as her friend crashed loudly against the car, sighing heavily once she realized it was Tomo. She scooted to the middle of the seat to give Tomo room as the door opened and the grinning girl stepped in, rubbing her cheek.

"Heya Kags. Sorry 'bout that, kinda forgot the ice was there…" Tomo apologized, still grinning, but looking a little embarrassed.

"Stupid as always, eh Tomo? I'm surprised you passed high school. Maybe I was too lenient." a familiar voice taunted. Tomo's head bolted to the front passenger's seat, a brunette with wavy, long hair sitting there with her arms crossed, looking very pleased with herself. She looked to be about thirty, had a soft peach skin tone, and was wearing a very light brown woolen sweater with red and black zigzag designs making a ring around her chest and lower shoulders. She shrugged, and her smirk softened into a warm smile. "But in any case, it's good to see you".

"Y… Yukari-sensei…?" Tomo stared at her for a few moments, and then slowly turned her head to Kagura. A few more awkwardly silent moments passed before she asked, "Why the heck'd you invite her?" She received a swift smack on the head from her teacher as a response. "Ow…"

The taxi ride to the bar was full of excited chatter, the three women discussing what they had been doing since they last saw each other, which had been quite a while in the case of Yukari. She was still an English teacher, although she had been searching for a new job. Aside from her newfound drive to better herself, though, nothing much had changed about her; she was still just as sarcastic and immature as she had been four years prior. Kagura, on the other hand, had undergone at least some notable change since high school. She had grown a few inches, now 5' 9", and her mahogany hair had grown with her, reaching down a little ways past her shoulders. Her tan had darkened to a deep chocolate color as well, her work as a swimming instructor exposing her to a good deal of sunlight each day. Tomo didn't talk much about herself during the ride, knowing that discussing herself would likely drag down the carefree mood that hovered around the three. After all, failure is a hard thing to accept, much less discuss.

The trio finally arrived at their destination; a rather low class looking bar nearly coated in graffiti, a homeless man taking a piss outside. The girls took no notice of this, though, and happy banter continued until the group entered the bar. It was incredibly dark inside, neon signs posted on every wall but dong nothing for lighting. The building was small, crowded with booths, a pool table in the very center of the place. A lamp hanging over the pool table was the only non-neon light to illuminate the room, and it was flickering.

"Jeez, Kags, why not just take us behind the crack house and have us drink the crap in the drainpipe?" Tomo joked, receiving a glare from more than a few patrons. Kagura looked somewhat horrified as well, obviously not expecting what she saw.

"I… I heard it was a nice place, g… good service or somethin'…" she stammered, obviously doubting her own words. "W… well, I suppose we should make the best of it, hm…?" she took a seat at the bar, and was quickly followed by her two friends. There was a long, uncomfortable silence before they all said in near unison "This seat is sticky…"

The silence continued until the three received their drinks, three unnervingly unlabeled bottles of beer, since the prospect of the sweaty man behind the bar dripping into their drinks was more than a wee bit disgusting. Yukari was the first to restart the conversation.

"So, uhm… I got a pretty awesome new game a few days ago. It's a shooter game, you play as a secret agent who shoots ghosts and such. It's pretty creepy… what about you two, played any good games lately?"

"Well, I haven't had a whole lot of times for games lately, and I haven't played any new ones for a while. What about you, Tomo?" Kagura looked to her friend questioningly.

"Yeah, what with not havin a job or anything, I bet you have a whole lot of free time, eh?" Yukari burst in, grinning widely. Tomo shot her an angry glare, then let out a heavy sigh.

"I wish everyone'd get off my back about that. Seriously, like I don't feel shitty enough about it" she replied, voice heavy with both annoyance and self-loathing. Kagura gulped and began to pat her friend comfortingly on the back.

"Well, hey… how about that baseball, hm? I heard that's a pretty cool thing nowadays" she started in an attempt to change the subject. Tomo grinned and chuckled softly, lifting the mood considerably and allowing conversation to restart.

Two hours and a six-pack later, the doors of the bar were thrown open, and a very smashed Tomo Takino was sent sailing through the air, her last bottle of beer not leaving her hand. She landed face first in a patch of yellow snow, and cut her cheek on some broken glass as she continued sliding.

"Zhu shunnufabish, Ah'll gehsha fer zhat…" she slurred, standing shakily and stumbling toward the door, which was promptly shut in her face. She slammed into it, again face first, and cursed loudly.

_Y'know, maybe you shouldn't have thrown an ashtray at the bartender…_ _or yelled at that biker guy… just a couple of suggestions for next time._

Tomo yawned and shook her head. "Meh, zhey dishurved it anywey…ashholes…" At that, she wandered in the general direction of her and Yomi's apartment, dwelling the whole way on how much assholes pissed her off and rubbing the cheek where the glass had penetrated. After a long walk back to her complex, and a few angry shouts from her neighbors, who didn't seem to enjoy the loud banging on their doors, she finally made it home. The door was unlocked and left slightly ajar, so of course Tomo leaned against it for a rest, pushing the door open fast and causing her to hit her head on the doorknob. The loud bang sound from the front room brought Yomi running from her office to her girlfriend's side.

"Holy crap, Tomo, you scared the shit out of me! You're so cold, did you walk home or something? And why is your cheek bloody? What did you do to yourself?" Yomi hit her lover with a barrage of questions as she helped the girl to her feet. Tomo was turned away from her, and she could feel her shorter friend trembling. She waited for a few moments, the asked again. "Tomo, answer me, what did you do?"

Tomo whirled around faster than lightning, bringing the surprisingly unbroken bottle around and slamming it into her girlfriend's face, hard. The bottle shattered on impact, sending bits of glass flying all about. Yomi was thrown to the floor, both by the force of the blow, and her lack of preparation for it. Tomo's breath was heavy, her voice full of anger as she yelled.

"It's always my fault, isn't it, Yomi?! It's always me who does everything wrong, isn't it!?" She hurled what remained of her bottle at the now cowering girl before her, hitting her left arm as it flew up to protect her face. "I'm never fucking good enough, am I!? Just because I'm not fucking successful, because I'm the fucking dropout, you think I don't have feelings or something?! You think I wanted to drop out of college?! Thought that was Takino's master fucking plan, to drop out and fucking mooch off of you forever?" she took a few moments to catch her breath, holding her face in her left hand and shaking her head slowly. "Well you know what? Maybe I am just numbnut Tomo, maybe I am just the fuck-up queen…" her hand shot from her face to a flower vase on the entrance room table, shoving it onto the floor and shattering it. Her eyes locked intently on her girlfriend's quivering form, her gaze now tinted with malice. "But at least I have character, Yomi! At least I'm not some fat fucking cow, some work-obsessed fucking lifeless bitch! I might not be some fucking secretary high up on the corporate ladder, but I'm not just another fucking rung, either! Let me tell you something, you fuckin snotty bitch…" her voice became a low growl at this point, and Yomi brought her arm down cautiously, revealing the cracked lens in her glasses and the blood trickling from a cut above her eyebrow. "Let me tell you… the people you turn your nose up at, they're always the underdogs. Just you watch, someday, I'll do something fucking amazing, and you'll wonder if it's the same fuck-up you knew so many years ago, and I'll just fucking laugh in your face as I pull in a fucking fortune. Just you wait, you'll see". At that, Takino stood up, picked up a fair wad of cash from the smashed vase, spit at her now almost definitely ex-girlfriend, and stormed from the apartment.

She began to head immediately to the train station, her mind racing with self-congratulations, with ideas for what she'd do with her newfound inspiration, every care in the world stricken from her thoughts. It wasn't until she had taken her seat on a train to Yokohama that her thoughts began to turn. Suddenly, above all the happy chatter within her head, a lower, darker her began to speak.

_Do you even have a plan? Do you have any clue what you're going to do? You have three hundred thousand yen, but what will you do when that runs out? Turn tricks in an alley? Because believe me, knowing you as well as I do, you won't have a great idea by the time that money runs out. Hell you probably won't have a good idea period. Haven't had one since you were five, and I doubt you'll start now. And what the fuck was that, anyway? Your girlfriend worries about you, and you fucking beat her? Who the fuck do you think you are? Well, a least you're not considering using that vase money on a wedding ring, cause there's no way she'll forgive you for that. You push and you push, Takino, and she's been a god damned saint to put up with you for so long, but this is definitely the ten ton weight that broke the camel's back. Go ahead, go live in your fuckin fairyland for long as you can, because pretty soon, it'll end, and your life'll come crashing down around you. _

And there, in a crowded train car speeding across Japan, Tomo Takino broke down and cried.

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Tomo bolted upright when she felt a hand on her, shouting loudly "I don't need your help, just go away!" It took her a few moments to realize she was in the police station,and the hand was not that of a curious stranger. Instead, a tall, fit woman with long, soft brown hair and a pair of square-rimmed glasses stood before her, smiling softly. The light twinkled and glowed around her, as it would an angel. Tomo stood up quickly and almost threw herself against the woman, arms wrapping around her in a tight embrace, tears streaming from her eyes. She murmured into the girl's ear, "Yomi, I'm so sorry… I… I missed you". Yomi simply nodded, running her hands along her friend's back comfortingly for what seemed like forever, until she finally decided it was time to go.


	3. Chapter 3

Please refer to the first chapter for my disclaimer, as I am lazy and do not want to type it again.

Author's Notes: I'm sorry I didn't have any of these in my second chapter, it's not because I don't care about you guys, I was just really excited to get my story up, and I've been pretty busy otherwise. Thank you so much to all of my reviewers, you're all so really awesome and I love you! You're the reason I continued this story, so I hope you guys like it. If there's anything you don't like (poor wording, things that don't seem to fit), don't hesitate to tell me! Now, without further hesitation here is chapter three! HURRAY!

Chapter Three:

Cat Found

The car ride home was awkward, to say the least. Tomo sat in the passenger's seat, fidgeting nervously and throwing curious glances to the girl sitting next to her, who hadn't spoken a word since she had received her friend's phone call.

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_What do you think, Takino, can you go through with it? Face your fears and call her? Or are you gonna hide your tail between your legs and run? You don't have the resolve for it, do you?_

"_Shut up, you. I can do this… I have to. Yomi's all I have left, anyway". _

_Fine, fine. Just remember, this isn't some fairy tale. Apologizing doesn't guarantee you a happy ending._

"_Why do you ha-"_

Tomo was pulled from her thoughts by a hand gently shaking her, the voice of the officer who had brought her in accompanying it. "Ma'am, are you alright? You seem… distracted".

"N… no, I'm fine. Just zoning out's all" Tomo replied, smiling weakly. It was a habit she'd picked up after the train ride. She'd close her eyes, and in the darkness she could see herself, her darker self, pale, ethereal even, staring back at her with wicked eyes, laced with madness and malice. She'd debate with this side of her, sometimes for hours on end on various topics: what should I do now? Where should I go? Am I really so horrible a person? Her dark side would usually win these debates, digging Tomo deeper into poverty and self-loathing. _"Today'll be different" _she promised herself,_ "Today I'll put that all behind me, I'll never have to talk to her again"._

She picked up the phone, trembling nervously, fighting the overwhelming urge to slam down the phone and remain as she was, to shut out her former girlfriend from her life forever. _"She wouldn't want me like this, anyway. I'm just a shell of who I used to be, a broken, wretched homeless girl. She wouldn't take me back…"_. She battled these thoughts as she dialed Yomi's number, shaking with fear…

A yawn was the first thing heard on the other end of the line, followed by the sounds of some annoyed cursing. Never-the-less, the woman on the other end of the line attempted to sound sincere. "Mizhuara residence… who's calling…?"

"Y… Yomi…? I… it's me… Tomo…"

The silence was deafening. Tomo's eyes began to tear up, and she began to lower the phone back its perch. Yomi's voice cam over the line again, only heard as a murmur at first.

"Tomo…? Is it really…?" another long silence before she continued, her voice quivering. "Tomo, where are you…? Where have you been…? Why…?" she trailed off.

"I'm at the Tokyo police station… I… I need you to come pick me up, alright? I'll answer anything you ask then…" in her voice was a mixture of joy, fear, and sorrow.

"_Please say okay… I know I don't deserve it, but please…"_

"The police?! How…? A… alright, I'll be there in about twenty minutes… I expect a lot of explanation when I get there…" The phone clicked, and Tomo slowly lowered the receiver back to its base, nearly bursting with joy.

"She's on her way. About twenty minutes" she beamed at the officer, who smiled back, seemingly uplifted by her drastic change in mood. "Good. I'll escort you to the waiting room, then".

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Finally, the bespectacled spoke, her voice calm, soothing even, perhaps to hide her other feelings. "Tomo, why did you leave? Or maybe… why didn't you come back? For two years… what was it that kept you away…? Were you serious that night…? Did you really plan on leaving me behind…?" her voice remained calm, though small wisps of spite began to lace it.

"N… no! That wasn't it at all… after I left, as soon as I left, I regretted it… I regretted everything that night, but… I didn't think you'd have me back… I thought you'd hate me for what I did…" she responded, shying away from the eerily calm girl.

Yomi remained silent, seeming to consider what Tomo had said. Minutes passed before she replied.

"People make mistakes, I know that. I know that you were drunk, and angry, and I've already forgiven you for that. But… to just leave me like that… that I'll have trouble forgiving you for…" her tone had changed from strangely calm to sorrowful, and she sighed heavily before finally locking eyes with her long-lost friend. Tomo noticed something, something subtle about the way Yomi looked at her. Something was missing, but she couldn't put her finger on it. _"I'll figure it out later, I guess. For now I need to focus on making up with her"._

"I… I guess we should head up, then. You're probably tired, and I know I am. We'll talk more tomorrow, okay?" Tomo hadn't noticed that they had parked, and was somewhat surprised to see that her friend still lived in the same apartment. _"Well, she did say something about it being close to work…"_ The pair finally reached their home, Yomi opening the door slowly, as though she didn't want to make a lot of noise.

"I'll get the guest room set up for you tomorrow, alright? Do you remember where the spare blanket is?" she whispered. Tomo nodded in response. "Good, good. I'm going to bed then, okay? Good night…" she said, patting Tomo's shoulder gently and heading off to her room. Tomo stood and watched her a moment or two longer before taking the spare blanket from the hall cabinet and head to the couch. _"It's good to be home…"_ she thought as she drifted to sleep. Tomorrow had a lot in store for her.


	4. Chapter 4

Finale:

Cataclysm

Tomo yawned loudly as she woke the next morning, taking a few moments to stretch and look around. The couch was much more comfortable than she had remembered, perhaps because she'd been sleeping on concrete just the day before. She gazed around the apartment, her hazed mind not registering the sound outside of her own thoughts, thus leaving her in relative silence.

"_She moved the dinning table… bigger TV… a note…"_ she picked up the note and examined it closely. It took her a few moments to finally register what it said, but the message finally clarified itself in her mind.

"I'm going out to pick up Kagura. Be back in about thirty-five minutes. (10:27). Yomi"

She checked the clock. _"10:48._ _That leaves… ugh, math… well, some amount of time, enough for me to get ready at least…" _After another minute of stretching, she stood and headed toward the bathroom. _"My first real bath in two years! This'll be so awesome". _She entered the tiled washroom, shuffling her feet along, towel dragging on the floor next to them, and pulled open the shower curtain.

Two eyes stared back at her, one brown and one blue, both utterly confused. Attached to these eyes was a girl not much taller than Tomo, long, currently wet raven colored hair hanging down to just below her collarbone. Her figure was definitely not that of an athlete, or at least not that of any athletes Tomo had met. She was skinny, her small muscles seemingly the only meat on her. She had about the same complexion Tomo had before she had left, a healthy rosy hue to her peach colored skin.

Tomo nearly jumped out of her skin at the sight of the girl, pointing and stuttering out

"W… why are you b… bathing in my friend's house…? Are y… you some kind o… of crazy s… serial killer…?" She backed against the door, ready to dart away if she needed to. The previously confused girl suddenly seemed to remember something and began to laugh softly.

"Ah! You're Tomo, then? Yomi told me so much about you! You sound like such a lovely girl, I hope we can become good friends".

"Y… who are you…? Why are you here…?" Tomo repeated, still very shaken and distrusting of the intruder.

"Oh! Where are my manners,? I'm Hikari" the girl extended her hand, leaving it out for a few moments before realizing that it was not being accepted. She explained further. "Hikari Morimoto? Yomi's girlfriend? She hasn't told you about me, I guess… ah well, I'm sure we can continue introductions after I get my clothes back on, right?"

Tomo simply stood and stared, shocked. Realization had hit her like a nine-tailed cat.

"_Yomi… doesn't love me anymore…"_

_Bravo, Sherlock, you solved another completely obvious case. Really, did you think that after two years, Yomi wouldn't have moved on? That she wo—_

"Shut up! Just shut the fuck up, I don't want to hear it right now!" Tomo screamed, holding her head and doubling over. Tears began to hit the floor, her body began to shake uncontrollably. Hikari reached out a hand cautiously, watching the cowering girl with worry, asking softly "What's wrong…?" Too suddenly turned, hands moving to cover her face, and darted out of the room towards the front of the apartment. She threw the front door open and tore down the hallway, sobbing uncontrollably. With every step, she felt the threads that held her life together unraveling, her willpower slowly draining. She screamed at herself, and the voices in her head shrieked and wailed at her, her darker voice loud and commanding over the rampant hollers.

_You see what you've done, Takino?! You see what you've done to yourself?! You're alone now! No one can save you, you've shut everyone out! All because you had to have a little temper tantrum, all because you had to be a stupid bitch who couldn't answer a simple question! There's nothing for you anymore, Takino, nothing to look forward too, nothing to hope for. Face it, you can't live without Yomi…_

"Damnit, shut up! Get out of my head, just leave me alone!" she shouted, drawing quite a bit of attention for the patrons of the Café she was passing at the time. She ran as far as the nearest street corner and rested her head on the light post, still sobbing loudly.

"I'm… I'm g… gonna regain my co… composure, and then I'm going b… back… just you watch, I… I'll make everything right again…" she murmured between sobs, turning back towards Yomi's apartment.

_How? Go back and tell her "Oh Yomi, I still love you, come back to me! Forget this other girl you're dating, anything the two of you share, come back to the girl who abuses you and runs away for long periods of time without contacting you! Doesn't that sound fun? Giggle giggle!" Are you really _that_ selfish, Takino?_

"I'm not selfish! I… I'm not… I just want to be happy, I d… I don't want to feel like… like this anymore… I don't want to hate myself like this… I don't want to be alone like this…"

At this point a small crowd had grown at a reasonably safe distance from her, murmuring and pointing and whispering. Tomo took no notice of them, the conversation with herself consuming all of her attention.

_Would it really make you feel better? Making someone else miserable for that happiness, is it really worth it? Are you sure you wouldn't just be amplifying that pain? I think you know what you need to do, Takino, what your last option is. Now you just need to find out how to execute it._

She slammed her fist hard into the light pole, the pain not registering to her in her current state. There was a small dent in the pole where she had hit, and the crowd gasped and began to move away, frightened for their safety.

"F… fine… i… if it's really the only thing left… I'll do it…" she growled, shuffling toward the train station.

_The train station? You can't run away from this, Takino, and you know it. Besides, you don't have any money._

"You think I'm _that_ stupid? (_Yes)_ I know exactly what I'm doing…" her voice trailed off into a monotone as she let her mind slip away. Only the thoughts of her current task and her lost love lingered in her mind, and they, too, were quickly slipping away.

She stumbled down the stairway, nearly falling on her face as she tripped on her own feet. Her eyes had lost their luster, now blank and emotionless, staring straight ahead of her at nothing. She arrived at the platform, looking to the left, then to the right. No trains coming. She waited five or so more minutes and finally heard a train in the distance. She waited a few moments more, until she thought it was close enough, and stepped off the de of the platform. Her darker self may have said something to her, but she didn't care. She turned to face the oncoming wall of metal and began to laugh as the last of her sane mind snapped and disappeared. There were shrieks and shouts from the platform, women covered their children's eyes, people began to flee the scene. Tomo simply continued to cackle, extending her arms to either side of her, ready to embrace her destiny, to embrace Death as it sped for her in its iron chariot and carried her away from her sorrow. She closed her eyes, she listened to the chaos around her… she heard something familiar, yet completely new to her.

It was nearby, the voice she heard, crying out for her, filled with terror and despair.

"Tomo! Get out of there Tomo! Hurry up, get over here!" The voice became steadily more choked with sobs as it neared her, now seemingly only feet away. Tomo opened her eyes and looked toward the source of the voice.

"_Yomi… what are you doing here…?" _she thought, though she was completely indifferent to the girl's presence. Just a few more moments…

"Yo… mi…" she mouthed, smiling warmly to the frantic woman. A blast of pain suddenly surged though her body, she could feel herself shatter, the world around her fading as her life-blood poured from her broken body. Yomi's face contorted to a look of pure horror, her body frozen as her closest friend's blood splattered on her, drenching her in crimson, a sickly sweet taste filling her mouth. Tomo Takino, age twenty three, was now nothing more than a smear on the 11:15 to Yokohama.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's note: This, my friends, is a little something I cooked up to give my story a happy ending (because I'm in a fluffy mood). After a long bit of though, I've decided that chapter four -s- the true ending, and this is just for those people who need the happy ending to feel good. I plan to continue this story from the point of view of not Tomo (probaby Yomi, since she's the only other main character. :p), and it will definitely take place as though Tomo had died. In any case, I hope you all enjoy this last piece. ALSO! I, like... don't have a spell-checking computer at the moment, so if anyone sees typos or misspellings, please point them out. Thank you so very much! I love you all!

Chapter 5

Tomo the Kitten

Tomo bolted upright, breathing heavily and sweating. She took a few quick glances around the house, sighing with relief once she was sure it was truely there. She was still tired, and with good reason; a look at the clock revealed it was only nine in the morning.

_Huh... that musta been some dream to wake me up so early... I thought I'd sleep for at least the next week. _The last thought made her chuckle. _Or at least another hour or two. Well, I suppose I should go take a shower. I've already dirtied Yomi's couch up enough anyway..._

Tomo turned and stood slowly, legs still a bit shakey from their underrested state. She hobbled towards the bathroom, stripping off her homeless uniform and tossing it into the garbage. _Glad I'll never haveta wear that again. Itchy piecea crap..._ She mumbled to herself as she stepped into the bathroom, pulling a towel from under the sink and hanging it up on the rack. She then turned and took a deep breath. _This is gonna feel soo good! Hehe..._

She pushed the shower curtain aside and gasped as she saw what was behind it. A pair of eyes stared back at her, one brown, the other brown, both shocked and confused. Attatched to these eyes was a tall, fit girl with long brown hair, not unlike the girl she had seen the night before, though this girl was covered in soapy lather and looked ready to smack her.

"Damnit, Tomo! What do you think you're doing? Trying to scare me? I coulda slipped in here, y'know" Yomi mumbled a bit longer and gave Tomo a long, disapproving glare. Tomo simply stared at her, blushing deeply and biting her lip as the lather washed away from her friend's body. She waited till the bubbley cover had nearly completely slipped away before asking reluctantly. "You, uhm... you gonna cover yourself...?"

Yomi blinked, then smirked a little and shook her head. "Why? It's not like you haven't seen me like this before". She looked Tomo over, noting her rather crusty state, then waved her in. The girl simply stood gazing at her wet friend for a few more moments before cautiously stepping into the shower. She barely noticed the water, both because of her thick layer of dirt, and because of her state of mind. She was trembling nervously, her eyes locked on Yomi, watching her closely to make sure she didn't disappear and prove this a dream. _Y... Yomi's letting me shower with her...? This is... it can't be true...! I must have died and gone to heaven!_

A familiar voice interrupted her day dreaming. _Y'know, Takino, this doesn't mean she's taking you back. She probably just feels sorry for you. Or maybe she's even trying to getcha back, hm? Get your hopes up, then rip them out from under you and tell you she doesn't love you?_

_"Just shut up. I don't have time to quibble with you right now, I have a goddess to dream about"_

_I'm sure you're very happy with your dreams, Takino, but I think sitting here staring at her is getting her annoyed. You should hurry up and get washed so you can get out of her way, hm? I doubt if she wants to look at you for any extended period of time._

_"You know what? You can't do this to me anymore. I'm going to prove to you that she wants me here, and then you won't have anything to say. You ready?"_

Tomo reached her hands out shakily, leaning in slowly and wrapping them around her bathing partner. She heard the girl say something in surprise and start to wriggle from her grasp, which she held firm.

_See, this is why we can't have nice things. Your first day back and already you're being too foreward and fucking everything up. Just go back to your tent, Takino. Get some money from Yomi, go find your sandwich and that liquor store and drink yourself dead._

_"Sh... shut up... maybe she's just... just enjoying the moment"_

_Hah! You tell yourself that, Tomo. I'm gonna find a nice frontrow seat to her kicking your ass and booting you back out on the street._

Yomi had stopped her wriggling, causing the girl holding her to look up slowly. _"Please don't be mad..."_

Before she could lift her gaze completely, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her and pull her in closer. She looked up into her friend's face and saw that she was smiling. She couldn't tell if the drops running down her cheeks were tears or shower water, though she suspected it to be a mix of the two. She could hear the brown haired girl's heart beating, and she tightened her grasp a bit as she felt her friend do the same. "Promise me you won't leave me again, Tomo..." she heard her friend whisper. "I promise" she replied.

Yomi pushed her girlfriend back a bit and winked. "Now then, how about that shower, hm? As lovely as your grime coating is, I'm sure you can't wait to get rid of it". She picked up a sponge and a bottle of soap, pouring a thick coat of it over her grimey lover before sponging her down. Tomo nearly melted on the spot, literally and figuratively, as the thick coat fell from her body. "Heh, I feel lighter!" she commented, giving her and her girlfriend a laugh.

"Alright, sit down. I haveta get your hair". Tomo nodded and complied, lowering herself to the shower floor and eeping with surprise as her lover's body press up against her. The two sat there for a long while, one girl content to hold her love, the other content with being held. Tomo's darker side tried to start up a conversation during this downtime, though it had a hard time being heard over the party going on in Tomo's mind.

_This is all quite touching, hm? I bet you never though this'd happen during your drinking sprees. You know, you're just going to break her heart again when you die from your overdrinking._

_"Oh be quiet, you. You barely have a leg to stand on anymore. Face it, I'm happy now, and you can't do a thing about it. So just shut up and go away, I don't need you anymore. I'm done hating myself, I'm done questioning everything I do, and I'm done with you and your cynicism. Tomo Takino's back, the _real_ Tomo Takino, and if you don't back off, she's gonna boot your ass to the moon"._

Dark Tomo simply growled and turned away, slinking off into the shadows and waiting for Tomo to do some other stupid thing. _"Whew, that was surprisingly simple. Now then, I believe my hair is getting washed, I should be there for that"._

Tomo sighed happily as she felt her lover's fingers running through her hair, though she couldn't help but wince as those fingers hit the thick, tangled sections. "You know, I'm surprised you don't have full dreadlocks. You must have gotten lucky..." Yomi commented as she washed one of the tightly wound knots. "Actually, I found a pair of scissors a week after I got back to Tokyo. I used those to cut off any bits I thought would be a problem" She whimpered as she felt another painful tug and murmured "I hate having long hair...".

"Well, we're going to get you a nice haircut then. Probably tomorrow, though"

There were a few sudden bangs on the door, followed by a voice Tomo vaguely recognized. "Hey, Yomi! I need to use the shower, I got called into work today! Hurry up in there!"

Tomo looked back at her lover curiously, asking softly "Yomi, who is that?"

"Ah, that's Hikari... she's been my housemate for about a year now, works as a supermarket clerk. You'll like her, I'm sure".

Hikari called from the other side of the door again. "Hey, who're you talking to? Do you have new girlfriend you've neglected to tell me about? Hello Yomi's new girlfriend! Don't do anything naughty in there, I haveta bathe there y'know!"

Yomi growled softly. "As you can see, she's a bit like you... well, we should get out, now, I guess..." She sighed as she stood up, offering her hand to Tomo "We'll do more cuddling later, alright?" Tomo nodded and grabbed her love's hand with her right one, causing the girl to cry out in surprise. With the dirt gone, she noticed the many burn scars on her smaller companion's hand, as well as the burn under her eye, and for the first time noticed the missing finger. "T... Tomo! What happened to your hand?! Did you get attacked?"

Tomo chuckled a little. "Naw, these were all my fault. Except the finger, that was the dog"

"Tomo... you have some explaining to do"

Hikari called again. "Hey, is everything okay in there? Did someone fall? Do I need to call the ambulance?"

Yomi stepped from the bath and wrapped herself in a towel, her newly cleaned lover following suit. "No, Hikari, we're fine. You can open the door now"

Yomi barely finished her sentence before the door burst open. The girl on the other side was just as Tomo remembered her from her dream the night before: black haired, seemingly frail, two different colored eyes, and nude. "Hey there Yomi and Yomi's girlfriend! Hey, I'm in a hurry, we'll get aquainted later, okay?"

Yomi sighed and rested her face in her hand. "Yeah, yeah, you go ahead and get ready..." Hikari hurredly pushed the two out of the bathroom and closed the door, calling from the other side."By the way, Yomi, we need more toilet paper! Go get some!"

"Get it before you come home, damnit!" Yomi called back, putting on her glasses that she had barely been able to grab from the bathroom counter.

"You still wear those things? I though for sure you'd go for contacts..."

"Pssh, I like these better. They complete my look, I guess you could say. Besides, you've told me I look good in them"

Tomo nodded and gave the right lense a quick poke. She then turned her attention to the clock and smirked. "Hey, Yomi... I think I'm late for my job interview..." There was a long silence, followed by by a soft response. "Yes. Yes, I believe you are".

"Oh well. I'll get a new one set up later this week. In the meantime..." Tomo looked to her partner, grinning mischeviously. "Whadda ya say we head into our room and... 'cuddle' a bit more" Yomi began to blush deeply, which was all Tomo needed. She pulled her lover down the hall and into the bedroom, slamming the door behind them.

Fifteen minutes passed. Hikari got out of the shower, headed to her room to get some clothes, and left the house blushing at the sounds she'd heard.

An hour passed. the door remained shut. Two hours, a delivery man came to the house, knocked on the door, shrugged and left a slip of paper on the knob. A few minutes after this, the couple's adventures came to a close, and the two layed side by side, fingers intwined with eachother, breathing heavily. They soon rolled to face eachother, Tomo's free arm wrapping around her lover's waist, Yomi's hand moving to stroke her girlfriend's cheek. They gazed lovingly at each other, each admiring the other's beauty, holding eachother in silent bliss. Tomo broke the still silence, first with a kiss, then with a simple statement.

"Y'know, Yomi... I dunno where I'd be without you..."

Yomi squeezed her lover affectionately and planted loving kiss on her lips. "I'd prefer we not think about it..."

Tomo nodded a bit and rested her cheek against her girlfriend's chest. "I love you, Yomi"

"I love you, too"


End file.
